Anybody got a log burner ?

[antony1969]

Currently renovating a property we may move into , thinking of putting a log burner in the main room and pot belly stove in dining room .

Are they any good , economical , do you still need central heating ?

Any help appreciated .

[Guest pelmetman]

We have 2 B-).....................The lounge one runs on bottled gas, its surprisingly noisy and doesn't seem to get as hot as the one in our sun lounge, which is a proper multi fuel stove ie wood or coal.

 

I'd recommend the multi fuel as its easier to keep them in over night on coal, and I'd also suggest having a flat top as we do loads of cooking on ours ;-)

 

But we also have central heating.............although we don't use much oil as its only used for background heating and hot water :D

 

You would probably get lots of free wood in your game as well?...............along with the free lead >:-)

[antony1969]

pelmetman - 2013-05-29 2:30 PM

 

We have 2 B-).....................The lounge one runs on bottled gas, its surprisingly noisy and doesn't seem to get as hot as the one in our sun lounge, which is a proper multi fuel stove ie wood or coal.

 

I'd recommend the multi fuel as its easier to keep them in over night on coal, and I'd also suggest having a flat top as we do loads of cooking on ours ;-)

 

But we also have central heating.............although we don't use much oil as its only used for background heating and hot water :D

 

You would probably get lots of free wood in your game as well?...............along with the free lead >:-)

 

 

Come in handy for melting the lead down ? Missus cousin has one in her room and it bakes the whole house . Have been told five kw would do the room , how bigs yours Dave ? Cheeky .

[nowtelse2do]

Silly question antony :-D.........Head......ego......or chopper :D :D

 

Dave

[Guest pelmetman]

antony1969 - 2013-05-29 2:54 PM

 

Come in handy for melting the lead down ? Missus cousin has one in her room and it bakes the whole house . Have been told five kw would do the room , how bigs yours Dave ? Cheeky .

 

Its tiny, but the size was dictated by where it had to go between two french doors in our sun lounge, but considering its size and our sun lounge has a glass roof 8-)............we can sit in there in the middle of winter with snow on the ground and be warm as toast B-).............where as the three radiators that were there when we bought the place hardly took the chill off *-)...............and to think this place was built by an architect for himself (lol) (lol)

[Guest pelmetman]

nowtelse2do - 2013-05-29 4:41 PM

 

Silly question antony :-D.........Head......ego......or chopper :D :D

 

Dave

 

You know me Dave ;-)...............As my mate Had Enough points out I'm just a failure :'( ............

 

 

 

But at least I'm a happy failure :D

[antony1969]

Dave , looks good , that's very much like we have been looking at . Thanks for the pics , you sure got a whopper there .

[Guest pelmetman]

antony1969 - 2013-05-29 7:17 PM

 

Dave , looks good , that's very much like we have been looking at . Thanks for the pics , you sure got a whopper there .

 

Its the length of 6" brown stove pipe that stands out...............all the local ladies are well impressed by it :D

[antony1969]

pelmetman - 2013-05-29 7:36 PM

 

antony1969 - 2013-05-29 7:17 PM

 

Dave , looks good , that's very much like we have been looking at . Thanks for the pics , you sure got a whopper there .

 

Its the length of 6" brown stove pipe that stands out...............all the local ladies are well impressed by it :D

 

Do you get to poke it often Dave ?

[Guest pelmetman]

antony1969 - 2013-05-29 7:38 PM

 

pelmetman - 2013-05-29 7:36 PM

 

antony1969 - 2013-05-29 7:17 PM

 

Dave , looks good , that's very much like we have been looking at . Thanks for the pics , you sure got a whopper there .

 

Its the length of 6" brown stove pipe that stands out...............all the local ladies are well impressed by it :D

 

Do you get to poke it often Dave ?

 

Aaah there's an art to poking a fire Antony ;-)....................and everyone is different, depending on yer draft :-S..............but for a bit instant hot stuff then your well dried timber is the best bet...........but it does need stoking regular like ;-)............Ideal if your out at work all day and just need a bit of hot stuff in the evening............although if your at home all day like us and get bored with having to keep putting your log in on a regular basis *-)............then a bucket of coal is ideal...............as all it needs then, is the occasional riddle to keep it happy............and at night a bit of slag keeps it happy as Larry until the morning .............but mind you close your vents >:-)................

[Paul-]

We don't have central heating we have a raburn cooker in the dinning room next to the kitchen, this heats the water, it heats it so well we've had to put a coper radiator into the bathroom to cool it down a bit.

 

We have a multi fuel stove in the front room, but only really use it in the winter, we tend to use coke on a night, this way it will keep going until mid-morning when we use a wood again

[Guest pelmetman]

We had a solid fuel Rayburn Royale at our last house...............best roast dinners ever and bread to die for B-)...............we miss it dearly :'(.............next house its top of our list of must haves ;-)

[Paul-]

pelmetman - 2013-05-29 9:06 PM

 

We had a solid fuel Rayburn Royale at our last house...............best roast dinners ever and bread to die for

B-)...............we miss it dearly :'(.............next house its top of our list of must haves ;-)

 

 

Ours is the early MK1 Rayburn from the 1940s before they used lids on the hot plate ;-)

 

It doesn't do central heating but it does get the water exceptionally hot and why we had a copper radiator in the bathroom.

It also cooks food to perfection, brisket etc is like butter when cooked in it and like you say bread is to die for :-)

 

The main point is the house is always hot, so hot we have a lpg cooker for the summer months

[colin]

In the 'old house' we have a Morso Lion, it's over 20 years old now, it heats the whole house as it has large 'back boiler' which heats water tank and radiators. When it was first installed it was a diy job, nowadays only legal way is building control or heatas installed. The Fire Services in many areas are expressing concern as to number of call outs they get to chimney fires with wood burners. Some one I know had his house burnt to a shell by a wood burner chimney fire which was installed by a heatas company (worked well that bit of law *-) )

was a seven figure rebuild cost 8-)

Many people are very happy with wood burners, but a lot of people also seem to have problems.

[antony1969]

colin - 2013-05-29 10:02 PM

 

In the 'old house' we have a Morso Lion, it's over 20 years old now, it heats the whole house as it has large 'back boiler' which heats water tank and radiators. When it was first installed it was a diy job, nowadays only legal way is building control or heatas installed. The Fire Services in many areas are expressing concern as to number of call outs they get to chimney fires with wood burners. Some one I know had his house burnt to a shell by a wood burner chimney fire which was installed by a heatas company (worked well that bit of law *-) )

was a seven figure rebuild cost 8-)

Many people are very happy with wood burners, but a lot of people also seem to have problems.

 

Are chimney fires a common problem with them Colin ?

[Symbol Owner]

Different 'Colin' Antony!

I only know about this on an anecdotal basis -- BUT-- I live in a 'semi' (lovely old 1930's type - "They don't build-em like that anymore") and my neighbour had a wood/log burner. We were out, but my teenage son, with a good 'nose' alerted neighbour to a fire in her chimney before it spread too far and local fire brigade did the business - she had a bit of repair work to be done, but our loft, etc., was O.K. The local fire chief knew my wife, as his 'day job' was as caretaker/handyman at the school where she worked. His opinion: "We are getting a lot of these" (i.e. chimney fires - woodburners were just 'taking off' as a fashionable item to have) - even people who thought that they got them swept regularly enough were getting caught out.

I don't know if that is still the case -- it was a few years ago -- but our local 'rag' still has reports of the fire service being called out to chimney fires -- often to huses that I know have had fancy room heaters/fireplaces installed -- I see logpiles in their garages -- but not the local coalman ( still one left) calling very often, if at all. The local sweep warned me, years ago, to stick with coal ( I was in a different house with a Raeburn fire at that time) as the 'build up from wood-burning was: "Asking for trouble"

 

I don't know if that helps, Antony,

 

Cheers,

 

Colin.

 

P.S. I have heard tales, among the 'log-burning fraternity' that certain types of logs cause more build-up of 'sticky' soot in chimneys than others -- notably the resinous woods from conifers -- hardwoods are a bit less likely to cause trouble.

 

C.

 

 

[Guest pelmetman]

antony1969 - 2013-05-30 7:19 AM

 

colin - 2013-05-29 10:02 PM

 

In the 'old house' we have a Morso Lion, it's over 20 years old now, it heats the whole house as it has large 'back boiler' which heats water tank and radiators. When it was first installed it was a diy job, nowadays only legal way is building control or heatas installed. The Fire Services in many areas are expressing concern as to number of call outs they get to chimney fires with wood burners. Some one I know had his house burnt to a shell by a wood burner chimney fire which was installed by a heatas company (worked well that bit of law *-) )

was a seven figure rebuild cost 8-)

Many people are very happy with wood burners, but a lot of people also seem to have problems.

 

Are chimney fires a common problem with them Colin ?

 

A chimney liner and regular sweeping at least once a year is the sensible approach Antony ;-)...........our sweep now gives us a certificate to prove we've had it swept 8-)

[Paul-]

 

 

A chimney liner and regular sweeping at least once a year is the sensible approach Antony ;-)...........our sweep now gives us a certificate to prove we've had it swept 8-)

 

Our chimney cleaner as also started giving us a certificate,

 

It might be worth mentioning that we have a smoke box in the chimney breasts, so he can get in to clean the chimneys

[colin]

Yes chimney fires are a regular occurrence, log burners need a lot more attention than a gas boiler. Ours needs sweeping twice a year. Liners are usualy the best option. Type of wood can be important, a lot of softwoods will clog up the chimney with resin. Most have very crude controls and you need to 'learn' how to use it, very easy to overheat one. If your away in winter you need to make alternative arrangements to ensure your house doen't freeze.

Wood burners as the main source of heating are a way of life.

[colin]

Yes chimney fires are a regular occurrence, log burners need a lot more attention than a gas boiler. Ours needs sweeping twice a year. Liners are usualy the best option. Type of wood can be important, a lot of softwoods will clog up the chimney with resin. Most have very crude controls and you need to 'learn' how to use it, very easy to overheat one. If your away in winter you need to make alternative arrangements to ensure your house doen't freeze.

Wood burners as the main source of heating are a way of life.

[pepe63xnotuse]

I couldn't put things much better than that Colin.. ;-)

 

Antony,just be aware that the installation costs may(will!) be more than the stoves themselves cost..

(.that's if the installations are done properly and they just "bodged in" by a builder mate from down the pub.. ;-) )

 

This is a handy,clear to follow link:

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove_building_regulations.html

[Guest pelmetman]

pepe63 - 2013-05-30 9:29 AM

 

I couldn't put things much better than that Colin.. ;-)

 

Antony,just be aware that the installation costs may(will!) be more than the stoves themselves cost..

(.that's if the installations are done properly and they just "bodged in" by a builder mate from down the pub.. ;-) )

 

This is a handy,clear to follow link:

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove_building_regulations.html

 

Its not that complicated ;-)...............I put ours in :D.........and the chimney was more expensive than the log burner 8-)

[antony1969]

Thanks for replies and info . Sounds like wood burner for me and a direct line to the local fire station also . Many thanks .

[pepe63xnotuse]

pelmetman - 2013-05-30 10:23 AM

 

pepe63 - 2013-05-30 9:29 AM

 

I couldn't put things much better than that Colin.. ;-)

 

Antony,just be aware that the installation costs may(will!) be more than the stoves themselves cost..

(.that's if the installations are done properly and they just "bodged in" by a builder mate from down the pub.. ;-) )

 

This is a handy,clear to follow link:

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove_building_regulations.html

 

Its not that complicated ;-)...............I put ours in :D.........and the chimney was more expensive than the log burner 8-)

 

I didn't say that installing them would be complicated, necessarily, just that they shouldn't "bodged in"

;-)

 

The world is awash with "bar room experts"(and not forgetting the "internet experts")who reckon there'd be nowt to it...

 

(..A few years back,after being made redundant twice in three years,I ended up working with a chap who fitted stoves,fireplaces,chimney linings etc..and we were both Hetas registered).

 

Antony,dodgy installations aside,the vast majority of fires,will be down to "user error".

Just burn decent,seasoned timber and keep 'em swept.

 

..they aren't meant to be used as an incinerator, for the disposal of household rubbish(tin cans,plastic food packaging etc) as I've witnessed some folk using them..*-)

 

[Guest pelmetman]

One other essential bit of kit...............a carbon monoxide detector ;-)...........